Tony Dovolani
| died= | hometown= Pristina, Kovoso | partner= 2: Stacy Keibler (3rd) 3: Sara Evans (6th) 4: Leeza Gibbons (9th) 5: Jane Seymour (6th) 6: Marissa Jaret Winokur (4th) 7: Susan Lucci (6th) 8: Melissa Rycroft (3rd) 9: Kathy Ireland (14th) 10: Kate Gosselin (8th) 11: Audrina Patridge (7th) 12: Wendy Williams (10th) 13: Chynna Phillips (9th) 14: Martina Navratilova (12th) All-Stars: Melissa Rycroft (1st) 16: Wynonna Judd (11th) 17: Leah Remini (5th) 18: Nene Leakes (7th) 19: Betsey Johnson (10th) 20: Suzanne Somers (9th) 21: Kim Zolciak-Biermann (11th) 22: Marla Maples (10th) }} Driton "Tony" Dovolani is a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars. Biography Retrieved from abc.com Tony Dovolani is balancing fitness, dance and family while capturing the hearts of millions each season on Dancing with the Stars. Born in Prishtina, Kosova, Tony was proficient in Albanian folk dancing by age three and was inspired by watching Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly films. After immigrating to the United States as a political refugee from his native Kosovo, Tony trained at a Connecticut Fred Astaire dance studio and eventually became one of the most dominant competitive dancers in the country. A two-time dance champion and certified world judge, Tony brought his expertise to Hollywood when he coached Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere for the 2004 film Shall We Dance, in which he also had a small role. He then joined Dancing with the Stars for its second season and captured our attention with partner Stacy Keibler, when the two placed third in the finals. During the Dancing with the Stars: All-Star Season, season 15, Tony and dance partner Melissa Rycroft won the show and took home the Mirror Ball Trophy. Tony and fellow dancers Maksim and Valentin Chmerkovskiy are partners in the Dance With Me USA Dance Studios in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Dancing with the Stars 2 Tony was partnered with Stacy Keibler. Placed 3rd. Scores Dancing with the Stars 3 Tony was partnered with Sara Evans. Placed 6th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 4 Tony was partnered with Leeza Gibbons. Placed 9th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 5 Tony was partnered with Jane Seymour. Placed 6th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 6 Tony was partnered with Marissa Jaret Winokur. Placed 4th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 7 Tony was partnered with Susan Lucci. Placed 6th. Scores *Score was awarded by stand in judge Michael Flatley. Dancing with the Stars 8 Tony was partnered with Melissa Rycroft. Placed 3rd. Scores Dancing with the Stars 9 Tony was partnered with Kathy Ireland. Placed 14th. Scores *Score was awarded by stand in judge Baz Luhrmann. Dancing with the Stars 10 Tony was partnered with Kate Gosselin. Placed 8th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 11 Tony was partnered with Audrina Patridge. Placed 7th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 12 Tony was partnered with Wendy Williams. Placed 10th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 13 Tony was partnered with Chynna Phillips. Placed 9th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 14 Tony was partnered with Martina Navratilova. Placed 12th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 15 Tony was partnered with Melissa Rycroft. Placed 1st. Scores * The additional score of 9.5 was awarded by guest judge Paula Abdul. Dancing with the Stars 16 Tony was partnered with Wynonna Judd. Placed 11th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 17 Tony was partnered with Leah Remini. Placed 5th. Scores *Score was given by guest judge Julianne Hough. *Week 8 score was given by Cher. *The additional score of Week 10 was given by Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Dancing with the Stars 18 Tony was partnered with NeNe Leakes. Placed 7th. Scores 1The additional score of Week 3 was given by Robin Roberts 2For this week only, as part of the "Partner Switch-Up" week, NeNe Leakes did not perform with Dovolani and instead performed with Derek Hough. Dovolani performed with Candace Cameron Bure instead of Leakes. 3Additional score of Week 4 was given by Julianne Hough. 4Additional score of Week 5 was given by Donny Osmond. 5Additional score of Week 6 was given by Redfoo. 6Additional score of Week 7 was given by Ricky Martin. Dancing with the Stars 19 Tony was partnered with Betsey Johnson. Placed 10th. Scores 1 Score given by guest judge Kevin Hart, in place of Goodman. 2The American public scored the dance in place of Goodman with the averaged score being counted alongside the three other judges. Dancing with the Stars 20 Tony was partnered with Suzanne Somers. Placed 9th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 21 Tony was partnered with Kim Zolciak-Biermann. Placed 11th. Scores Dancing with the Stars 22 Tony was partnered with Marla Maples. Placed 10th. Scores 1 Score given by guest judge Zendaya Coleman. Trivia * Tony met his wife, Lina, on a blind date in 1998 and proposed to her four hours later. They have been married since 1999. * They have three children; daughter Luana and twins Adrian and Ariana. * Tony was in the middle of rehearsals for the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars with partner Susan Lucci when he got the call that Lina had gone into labor. * Tony is good friends with fellow professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. * Tony is the third professional to win after finishing last the prior season after Kym Johnson and Peta Murgatroyd. *He was the oldest pro to ever win the mirror ball trophy at age 39. Gallery Stacy and Toney S2 1.jpg Stacy_&_Tony_S2.jpg Tony-dovolani.jpg Sara_&_Tony_S3.jpg Sara and Tony S3 1.jpg Sara and Tony S3 2.jpg Sara and Tony S3 3.jpg GW342H421.jpg Leeza_&_Tony_S4.jpg Jane_&_Tony_S5.jpg Jane and Tony S4 1.jpg Marissa_&_Tony_S6.jpg Tony_Dovoloni_S6.jpg Susan_&_Tony_S7.jpg Tony_Dovoloni_S7.jpg Nancy_&_Tony_S8.jpg Melissa & Tony S8.PNG 87986 melissa-rycroft-and-tony-dovolani-dwts-week-one.jpg Lindy-hop-1.jpg Kathy_&_Tony_S9.jpg Kate_&_Tony_S10.jpg Tony_Dovoloni_S10.jpg Audrina_&_Tony_S11.jpg Tony_Dovoloni_S11.jpg Wendy_&_Tony_S12.jpg Chynna_&_Tony_S13.jpg Tony_Dovoloni_S13.jpg 618 ustv dwts chynna.jpg Martina_&_Tony_S14.jpg Tony_Dovolani_S14.jpg Melissa_&_Tony_S15.jpg Melissa and Tony S15 1.jpg Tony_Dovoloni_S15.jpg melissa-tony-freestyle.PNG Melissa-tony-win.jpg Melissa-Rycroft-and-Tony-Dolovoani-Win-DWTS-02-2012-11-27.jpg Melissa-rycroft-300.jpg Melissa-tony-front2.jpg Melissa.jpg Wynonna_&_Tony_S16.jpg Tony Dovolani S16.jpg Leah_&_Tony_S17.jpg Tony_Dovoloni_S17.jpg DWTS-S17E01.jpg NeNe_&_Tony_S18.jpg Nene-leakes-tony-dovolani-DWTS.jpg Tony_Dovoloni_S18.jpg Betsey_&_Tony_S19.jpg Betsey and Tony S19 1.jpg Betsey and Tony S19 2.jpg Tony_Dovoloni_S19.jpg Tony_Suzanne.jpg Tony_Dovolani_20.jpg Suzanne disney.jpg Kim-Tony-Promo21.jpg Kim-Tony-2.jpg Tony_Dovolani_21.jpg Marla-Tony-Promo22.jpeg Marla and Tony S22 1.jpg Tony_Dovolani_22.jpeg Marla-Tony-Week1-Quickstep1.jpg Marla-Tony-Week1-Quickstep2.jpg Marla-Tony-Week2-ArgentineTango1.jpg Marla-Tony-Week2-ArgentineTango2.jpg Marla-Tony-Week3-Jive1.jpg Marla-Tony-Week3-Jive2.jpg Marla-Tony-Week4-Waltz1.jpg Marla-Tony-Week4-Waltz2.jpg Marla and Tony S22 Week 4 Waltz.jpg Marla and Tony S22 Week 4 Waltz 1.jpg Marla and Tony S22 Week 4 Elimination.jpg ChmergatroydWedding7.jpg ChmergatroydWedding9.jpg ChmergatroydWedding12.jpg Category:Males Category:Professionals